Cotton-harvester.



PATENTED MAY 14, 1907.

A. CAMPBELL.

R E T S E V R A H N 0 T T 0 0 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26. 1908.

6 sums-5112M 1.

Q f w f Qb r E I n m m a W Z Q Q .qlli

1 PATENTED MAY 14, 1 07.

N. '85a. 16. v

. A. CAMPBELL. .GOTTON HARVBSTER.

APPLIUATION IILED mm. 20, 1900.

6 sums-81mm 2.

PATBNTED MAY 14, 1907.

5 SHEETS-SHEET .Zizve72z%71' 65m; 56 ZZ A. GAMPBELL. COTTON HARYESTER, APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1906.

' 'The general appearance'and mode of on UNITED STAZIEEQENT OFFICE.

"ANGUsoAMPBELL, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

C'QTTON ARVESTER.

353,916. Specification of To all whom; it may concern:

Be it known that .I, ANGUS CAMPBELL, a.

' citizeniof the Uni-ted States, residing atPittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have'invented a new and useful Im rovement .in Cotton-Harvesters, of which t e following is a specification.

f .Myinvention relates to improvement in the construction ofcotton-harv'esters of the type in which opposed co-operating series of axially rotating picker-spindles are mounted uponj vertical, axially rocking carriers and moved along the adjacent inner sides of the machine at the "speed of theforward travel. of the machine. The rocking carriers are operated to thrust the picker spindles longitu-.

1895. Improvements upon the construction of the original machine are shown, for example, in Letters Patent Nos. 685439 to 685443, inclusive, granted to me October 29,

1901, No. 7'22421granted, to me March 1-0, 1903 and No. 777595 granted to me December 13,1904.

My present invention relates more particularly to improvement in the construction of the carrier tubes, and means for rocking them on' their axes; myobject being to make the cotton-picking mechanism more compact and lllUQGll lighter, than hitherto, and

' much more easy running, and to obviate the spindles to necessity of causing the opposing pickerintermesh with each other in the plants.

erationof the machine are very similar to my former machines, and in the accompanying drawings I have thought it unnecessary 1 to illustrate morethan is required to convey aclearunderstanding of my presentfeatures drums, or-casings, containingt e ,cooperat i p k-r S pp s ean r h smsg. the cover portion ofij pperidruifiifi the:

expose: features which would btherwise jb'e Letters Patent Patented May 14, 1907.

Application filed June 26,1906. Serial Noa2s,4ss.

hidden; Figs. 2 and 3, reduced plan sections taken, respectively," on lines 2 and 3 in Fig. 4, with the casing portion left out to avoid .con-

verse section taken on line 4 in Fig. 1 and viewed in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 5,

portion of one of the carriers, the section eing taken on lin'e.5 in-Fig.- 6; Fig. 6, a sectional view of the same parts taken on line 6 in Fig. 5; Fig. 7, aview showing one of the carriers in elevation and a few of an endless Figs. 8 and 9, enlarged broken perspective carriers Fig. 10, an enlarged perspective view of one-of the spindle-bee. cups, and

Fig. 11, a plan section'on a taken on line 11 in'Fig. 5. n

14, 14 are com anion drums, or casings, containing the pic er mechanisms. The casings are formed as indicated in Fig. 1, and

16and top p ates 17, illustrated in Fig. 4.

with a seriesof openings 20 equidistant apart tube, 21', w ich may be of comparatively thin stamped metal with flanged openings 22 coropenings 20.

ing closed ends 24 and openings 25 eorresponding in size and, shape -Wll7h,th6 openings lpreterably by. brazing, to extend horizontal yand tangentiallywith relation to the tubes 19. In each at each of the openings 20 with a spiral gear rier tube 19is a head 28 for the. upper end portion of the shaft 26, and. jiadqoye-the said bearing the shaft feam'ies a 'inwith the base ortions 15, slatted inner sidesthroughout its length. Eastened against the preferably by brazing, is a facing strip tube 19 is a spindle-driving shaft 26 provided-- -27. Brazed upon the up er end-bf each carii'om whioh -risesflan; .integral stem formed with the Ste Ped-r-annu- "lansurfaces 29, 30, 31 and 32. In the head,'.. broken plan view illustratin companien"conpentricwith the tube 19,'...iS & bearing 33"" fusion; Fig. 4, a broken and enlarged -trans-,

aibroken vertical section'through the up er chain of casters on which the carriers travel; I

views of details of the casing portions of the re uced scale The casings of the carriers 18 are each formed with a comparatively thin tube 19 (Fig. 8) of: steel or other suitable metal, and provided responding insize, and registering -with the 23, 23 are spindle bearingcupscomprising short tubes ofcomparatively thin metal hav 20, 22.- The cups 23 are fastened to the I flanges of the 'openings 22,

ionj34." The stem portion of the-head28 as 1 a recess'35 in its sideto clear the pinion 34, as indicated'mostplainly in Figs. Sand 11''. In.

I and the spindle held, to rotate mounted shaped inner face forming nally threaded cup-shape indicated to the lower end of the tube 19 is a suitable iour- Hal-bearing (not shown) for the lower end of the shaft 26. Resting upon the head 28 around the spindle portion is a bearing disk 36.

37' is a gear piece having a lower cupshaped portion formed with an internal gear 38 surmounted by an external gear 39, in turn surmounted by a mutilated gear 40, all cast or formed preferably in one piece. This gear piece has a central bearing opening surrounding the part 30 of the spindle, which opening enlarged at its lower end portion to fit over the shoulder at the upper end of the part 29 of the spindle, is indicated in Figs. 0 and 6. The gear piece at its annular lower end con tacts with and rotates against the disk 36, and the internal gear 38 meshes in driving en-' gagement with the pinion 34.

Each spindle-bearing cup .23 has an internal thread 4]. along its open-end portion. In the base of each cup is a cupped disk 42forming a ball-race member, and screwed upon the thread 41 is an externallythreaded nut 43 having a central opening. 44 and a cupa call-race member. In each cup 23 is a spindle socket-piece, or holder, 45 of tubular form and provided at opposite ends with concave edges forming ballrace members. shown in Fig. 5, balls 46 being placed in the ball-races in the manner shown and the parts suitably held in place by the nuts 43. The spindle socket pieces 45 are formed between their ends with spiral gears 47 meshing in driven relation with the spiral gears 27.. The spindles 48 shown are in the main construced as described and claimed in Letters Patent No. 685439, granted .to me October 29, 1 901 but may be somewhat shorter than hitherto, and each formed with an integral collar 49 and a squared end 50. To fasten a spindle in place it is passedatits shaft portion through into the socket presented by the socket piece 45, the squared end 50 of the shank passing into a squared opening in the end of the socketpiece, as indicated.-

If desired, the squared end ortion of the picker-spindle shank may be ispensed with with the socket piece 45, by friction. The inserted s indle is eld against removal by means of'a ousing nut, or screw cap, 51, which is-of the exteroverlap at acentral opening the collar 49 of' the spindle.

- The carriers 18 are mounted at their lower ends upon an endless chain of casters 52, which travel upon an endless oblong track 53 upon the base 15 of the drum, 'or casing, 1.4. The links 54 which connect the casters pivotally together form therewith, in

The links efiect, an endless driving chain.

of the endless chain 55 receive and engage" The parts are assembled as dies are thrust longitudinally into the opening 44 of the nut 43 and the spindle portions of the carriers at the surfaces 31. thereof, and on the surfaces 32 of the stems are journaled rollers 56 which move in an endless guide formed by the bars 57, 58, shown most plainly inFig. 2. The construction descr'bed is very similar to that shown in my afi esaid former patents, though it is new to pr vide the rollers 56 and endless, oblong, str ight sided guide slot formed by the inner an .1 outer bars, or the like, 57,- 58, which operate to steady and guide the upper end Portions of the carriers. The vertical drive-shafts 59, 60 carry sprocket-wheels 80 near theirlower ends for driving the chain of casters, and similar sprocket-wheels (not shown) near their upper ends engaging and .driving the chain 55. The shafts 59 and 60,

as shown anddescribed in my former patents, are geared with relation to the running gear of the harvester to travel at the inner sides of the drums in the backwarddirection at a speed approximating theforward movement of the machine. the mutilated gears 40, during the movement of the carriers around the em portions of the guide tracks 57, 58 and along the inner courses in the backward. direction, engage the teeth of a stationary rack-plate 61 whereby the gear-pieces 37 arerotated to rotate the shafts 26 and all the spindles geared in driven relation thereto. The carriers and spindles thereon move in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2.

right-hand end in Figs. 1, 2 and 3) the spinthe cotton plants, in a manner to prevent their sla ping against parts of the plants which would tend to break twigs and knock off green bolls. The means for rocking the carriers on their axes to properly guide the spindles is in the main thcsame as shown and described in' my former patents aforesaid. Clanlped, or otherwise secured to the upper end portion 32 of each carrier-stem is a bentarm 62 carryingat its end a downward projecting anti-friction roller 63 and between its ends upward projecting anti-friction rollers 64. The bars 65, 66, ben't, as, and mounted in the osition, shown, form guide-.tracks'enterer by i the rollers 64 as the carriers commence to move along their backward course and disengaged ,by the rollers 64 as the carriers near the end of their forward c'ourse. The rollers 63 during the movement of the carriers around the forward end of their course, enter and travel in a guide formed by the curved bars 67, 68, shown in Fig. 1. The axial rocking of The pinion's 39 with As they move around the forward end of their course (the the carriers produced by the engagement of thejrollers 64, 63 with the ides mentioned, has the effect of thrustin tbi e picker spindles longitudinally into the p ants as stated when the carriers start to move. in the backward direction, maintain the picker-spindles ex tended during the movement of the carriers in the backward direction, withdraw the picker-spindles longitudinally from the plants when thecarriers reach the end of their back- .ward movement, then turn the carriers to cause the spindles to be drawn longitudinally foracertain distance in the movement ofthe carriers in'the forward direction, then rock the'carriers to turn the spindles to extend in the forward'direction and thereafter, as the I carriers move around the forward end, thrust the spindles lon itudinally into the lants.

In their initiaImoVement longitu inally in the forward direction after being withdrawn from the plants the picker-spindles are drawn between stripper-strips, as usual, to remove the gathered cotton therefrom. It is necessary during this. operation that the pickerspindles shall be held against axial rotation to more than avery slight extent, and this axial rotation is prevented. by the sliding of the mutilated gears 40 at one straight side along the edge-of the guide-bar 69 mounted, as hitherto, upon the rack-plate 6 1. As a pinion 39 disengages the. teeth of the rackplate 61 one side of -the attendant mutilated gear moves against and slides along the edge' of the guide-bar 69,-which prevents further rotation of, the respective. shaft 26. When the end of the guide-bar 69 is reached the pinions 39 engage the teeth of the. racklate and rotation of the respective shaft 26 is resumed; I

The mechanism for stripping cotton from the picker-spindles consists of parallel horizontal slats 70 which. may be shaped as shown in Fig. 1, conforming iii-position to the slats,

16, with elongated openings between them,v

the slats 70 being provided withany suitable means, such as bunches of wire orstripperedges, or both (not shown), for engaging the spindles to strip them. of the cotton carried t ereby, the cotton during this stripping operation being moved. toward a spike roller 81, described in my former patents, which operates with the strippers to remove all the cotton from the spindles. g

By constructingthe carriers as described, they may be of a minimum diameter consistent with strengtl and thusnot only materially lighten the construction but also permit the spindles to be placed closerv together than hitherto. Formerly it was necessary that; to cause proper engagement of the spindles 'with cotton in open 'bolls of the plants, the opposing sets of spindles should intermeshin t ie plants. Y In the present construction the spindles I may be so close together that it is unnecessal'y V V 60 may extend at their ends more or less close to,

1 but'short of, an intermediate plane, as illus trated in Fig. 1. lthas always been amatti! of some difliculty to -maintain intermeshingf picker-spindles in exact, properly spaced reation, owing to provide for intermeshingand they and changes effected .by wear of driving parts. ficulty is entirely overcome.

Another great advantage of my present construction is that-shorter picker-spindles may be employed than hitherto as a safe-- guard against bending or breaking when thrust against the stems of cotton plants. The provision of ball-bearings for the spin dies lends Well known advantages, and the construction shown and described renders these bearings completely dust-proof. The.

disks 36 houses the driving gears at the tops of the picker-spindle shafts against access of dust, so that each carrier is practically dustproof, which contributes to the easy running of the spindles and the reduction of power necessary for their operation. The carriers built up as described require no bolts or pins in their construction, and besides being very light are sufficiently strong and'durable for their purpose. Carrier-shafts and picker-spindles, are constructed" to produce the desired number of turns in the plants in .eacli operation, *and they form a very compact arrangement. Owing to the ball-bearings the spindles turn upon the worm-gears.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

with a series of traveling, rotary, cottongathering pickenspindles, of a carrier thereforcomprising an upright tube having a, longitudinal series of o enings in one side and a tangential spindle earing cup at. each of sad 0 enings, andspindle-rotating meansin thetu e. i

athering pickerespindles, of a carrier thereor comprising an upright tube having a longitudinal series of'o enings in one side and a I tangential spindleearing cup at each of said openin s, a-rotary spindle-holder journaled on ba h-bearings in-each cup, and ro tating means for the holders in the tube.

4. n a cbtton-harvester, the combination with a series 'of traveling, rotary, cottongathering picker-spindles, of a carrier therefor comprisingan upright tube having a longitudinal series of openings inone side, a tan:

to the fineadjustment necessary gential spindle-bearing cup at each of said openings, a spindle-drivingshaft journaled construction ofthe gear pieces 37 with the very easily and thGI'QlS practically no wear 1 I In my present construction this dif- The worm-gears between the 1. In a cotton-harvester, the combination with :aseries oftraveling, rotary, cotton- .105 2. In a cotton-harvester, the combination 'in the tube provided with driving wormgears adj acentto said openings, and a rotary spindle-holder in each of said bearing. cups having a driven worm-gear meshing with the adjacent driving worm-gear.

5. In, a cotton-harvester, traveling 'icker-spindle carrier formed with a tube iavinga longitudinal series of openings in one side, .a facing strip with openlngs registering withthetube openings, and spindlebearing cups'secure'd to the facing strip s at the ogenings therein. 6.

n a cotton-harvester, a traveling icker-spindle carrier formed with a tube having a longitudinal series of openings in one side, a facing strip having openings registering with the tube openings, and a spinits .upper end with a pinion, an internally- .toothed gear extending laterally beyond said tube and meshing with saidpinion and sur-' rounding it at its top and sides, and a' plate fitting over the bottom side of said gear, for the purpose set forth.

9. In a cotton-harvester, a picker-spindle carrier formed with a tube havinga longitudinal series of openings in one side, spindlebearing cups secured to the tube at said openings, a spindle-driving shaft journaled in the tube, a pinion on the end of said shaft, an internally toothed gear surrounding and meshing with said pinion, a disk on the end of the tube against which said gear rotates and forming therewith, a dust-proof housing for the pinion, and means for rotating said gear during the travel of the carrier.

10. In a cotton-harvester, the combination with a series of traveling picker-spindle carriers and means for moving them, of a guide for the upper-end portions of the carriers comprising a pair of inner and outer bars forming between them an endless, oblong, straight-sided guide-slot'through which the carrier projects for guidance in its travel therein.

11. In a cotton-harvester, the combination with aseries of traveling picker-spindle carriers, of stems on the upper ends of the carriers, anti-friction rollers on the stems, a carrier guide comprising a pair of inner and outer bars forming between them an endless, oblong, straight-sided guide-slot in which the said rollers travel, and means for moving the carriers.

ANGUS CAMPBELL.

In presence of- 'Inos. B. MORRIS,

MINNIE .E. 'Inoams. 

